Bocas Del Toro, Panama

I'm back home now. I got back Friday night, but I wanted to share about the other places I visited in Central America.

After Panama City, we flew to Bocas Del Toro, which is on an island in the northwestern part of Panama. The town was very small, but there were always people walking around everywhere and they loved to play loud music from their homes. (We especially noticed that when we were trying to go to bed and it sounded like there was a nightclub right outside our window. Fortunately, that only happened the first night). We found out once we got there, that it was "Bocas Day," so they were having a big parade and a huge all day celebration downtown.

We stayed at a little place called Cocomo on the Sea. There were only four rooms and the owners and other guests were very friendly. The guy running the hotel even met us at the small airport and walked us to the hotel, which was only four blocks away. I felt like we were at a private cabin on the carribean with friends. I spent a lot of time laying in the hammocks reading and also took out one of the kayaks that was included with the room.

We stayed there a total of three nights. The day we left, it was pouring rain, and we flew out in this very small plane. Little did we know, this would not be the smallest plane we'd ride on this trip...

Videos from Panama

This one is for you Eli! I wish you could've seen the monkeys!

This one is kinda long. You might want to fast forward through the middle, but it's pretty neat. It shows a very long ship going through the Panama Canal.

Last day in Panama City

It's a little after 12pm here in Panama City, and I'm sitting at the computer in the common area of our hotel. We've already checked out, and we're waiting for our 3:30 flight to Bocas Del Toro. Here is what we did yesterday:


Our hotel is up on a hill in Panama City, so yesterday morning, Mari and I jogged/walked up to the top where there was a 360 view of Panama City. Below is the view looking toward the canal, and if you look close, you can see Miraflores Locks, where we went the day before.
Here is a view of Casco Viejo, which we also visited on Friday:


A view of the metropolitan area of Panama City:

The ships lined up outside the canal waiting to go through:

Then we went to Panama Viejo, the original Panama City founded in 1519. This was the starting point for Spanish expeditions to the rest of the continent, but was attacked in 1671 and then abandoned.
This is inside the top of the 15 meter high cathedral tower:

Some Panamanian boys walking ahead of us in Panama Viejo:

The Cathedral Tower:

A lot of Panama City looks like this. It is a big city, but not very clean or modern:

Then there are parts that don't look all the different from the US, like this huge mall. The only difference I could see was the people walking around in it, although many of them dressed very similar to what we see in the US.

We've been lucky to have computer access here, and I can even get wi-fi on my phone, but I don't know what it will be like at the next place we go to. I'll just tell you that today we're heading to Bocas Del Toro, Panama, and Wednesday we head north on the Costa Rica! I'll post more pictures when I can! Adios!

Panama

Hello All! I arrived in Panama yesterday afternoon. We got to our hotel and were exhausted from the lack of sleep and jet lag. We decided to relax at our hotel that night and order a pizza. I ended up going to bed just before 8pm, which would actually be 5pm pacific time. I slept for 13 hours, waking up just before 9am! But I felt much better and ready to go see the canal. By the way, the area where our hotel is located reminds me a lot of the Presidio in San Fransisco, which makes sense because the Presidio used to be a military base that now has private residences and is a large park and quiet place just out of the city. And our taxi driver told us that this area used to be a US military base.

This morning, we took a taxi to Miraflores Locks, which is one of the locks systems at the canal where there is a visitors center. We actually got to see one of the huge cargo ships going through. Here are some pictures I took and a video of the ship going through.

Oh yeah, we also saw an alligator in the water!

Then this afternoon, we went to Casco Viejo, which is an old part of Panama City. Here are some pictures from there.

As I was typing this, I noticed a tiny little iguana on the wall in front of me. It climbed down and then jumped on my hand, which startled me and made me gasp. But then I thought he was extremely cute of course, and here is his picture on my elbow.

And one little thing I surely can't leave out about this trip is that right off the balcony of our hotel, there are monkeys! Yes, that right, monkeys! Last night I was hoping to see some, and I did see some different looking squirrels and some oppossums eating the banana, and then this morning as we were eating breakfast we saw the monkeys. Right now there are tons of them out there! That's how I know we picked a good spot! I took a video of the monkeys too, but it's taking forever to upload the videos, so I'll try and post that and the one of the canal when I get home.

Central America here I come...

I meant to write about this sooner, but things have been a little hectic leading up to my trip, and now it's here already. I am leaving for Central America tonight! ....in just a matter of hours!! I don't think I've ever been so nervous and anxious about a trip before, but I'm a little scared. Why did this seem like no big deal back in January when I first started planning for it? People kept saying how I'll need to be careful traveling down there, and I just shrugged it off thinking it was nothing and I'm a strong independent woman who can do anything. But now that I'm truly leaving, like now, well....I'm scared.

But I know it's going to be a fun trip, and I'm still looking forward to it. I'm going with my roomie, Marisol. Her mom was supposed to be coming with us too, but had trouple getting her passport, so now it's just Mari and me. Good thing is Mari's first language is Spanish, so that makes me feel more comfortable about going.

Okay, so here are the details: Our plane leaves San Fransisco tonight at 11:20 and we have a layover in Miami tomorrow morning. Then we fly the rest of the way to Panama City tomorrow afternoon. We are going to spend a few days there and visit the canal, then fly to Bocas Del Toro, Panama which is a little island on the Carribean side. Then we fly to San Jose, Costa Rica on Wednesday the 18th, where we continue on to see Monteverde and Arenal. Next stop is Montezuma, which is on the Peninsula de Nicoya on the Pacific side. From there, we head North through Nicaragua on our way to El Salvador. We'll stay one night in Granada, Nicaragua before traveling the rest of the way to San Salvador, El Salvador, where we will meet with Marisol's grandma. Mari's mother's side of the family is actually from El Salvador and they have a house there where we will be staying. We will be spending Thanksgiving there, then flying home the Friday after Thanksgiving. (I think I'll be ready to come home by then).

I'm sure once I get on the plane I'll be nothing but excited, but for now I keep thinking:
What if we get lost and don't know how to get from one place to another?
What if someone steals all my money?
What if I didn't get enough traveler's checks or they won't accept my traveler's checks?
What if I end up spending way more money than I planned on?
What if those short latino men try to take advantage of me? (everyone keeps telling me how much they love pretty American women)
What if I didn't pack enough clothes or forgot to bring something important?
What if Marley runs out of food and my friend doesn't come by to feed her?
What if something happens and I get trapped over there?

Ok, enough! I just have to remember that God is on my side and He will be with me the whole time looking out for me. Wow, that really helps, I feel much calmer.

I'm going to miss talking to my mom and sister, but I'll be checking my email at any chance I get and try to post some blogs with pictures! Buen vieje! I guess I'm not supposed to say that if I'm the one traveling, so uh.... hasta luego!

My New Job Title

Five weeks ago, I took the Sr. Land Tech exam at work, and I just found out that I passed! Yay! Now I'll go from being a Land Technician to a Sr. Land Technician, and I also get a 2 1/2 % raise!